A journey of negotiation and belonging: understanding students’ transitions to science and engineering in higher education

Abstract

The paper presents results from a longitudinal study of students' decisions to enrol on a higher education science programme and their experiences of it. The aim is to give insights into students' transition process and negotiation of identity. This is done by following a cohort of 38 students in a series of qualitative interviews during a 3-year period starting as they were about to finish upper secondary school. We find that the students' choice of study is an ongoing process of meaning-making, which continues when the students enter higher education and continuously work on their identities to gain a sense of belonging to their science or engineering programme. The use of a narrative methodology provides understanding of choice of study as involving changes in future perspectives and in the interpretation of past experiences. Further, we gain access into how this meaningmaking process over time reflects the students' negotiations in terms of belonging to higher education and their coping strategies when their expectations of their new programme interact with their first-year experiences. Keywords Transition to higher science education Á Identities Á Educational choice Á Student narratives Á Negotiation strategies Resumé Denne artikel handler om en gruppe af studerendes overgang fra udvalgte gymnasiale uddannelser til de laengere videregående tekniske og naturvidenskabelige uddannelser. Ved gentagende narrative interviews med 20 studerende over en tre-årig periode, undersøges

A bottom-up strategy for establishment of EER in three Nordic countries – the role of networks

“…Eventually, the centre failed to sustain its legitimacy (Danmarks Evalueringsinstitut, 2003) and DTU discontinued EER activities. Some CDM researchers moved to science education research at Copenhagen University, where there is work on innovation and technology (Holmegaard, Madsen, & Ulriksen, 2014). DTU reorganised the CDM activities, keeping the development and training in a new unit, the DTU Learning Lab.…”

Balancing Cost and Value: Scandinavian Students’ First Year Experiences of Encountering Science and Technology Higher Education

“…However, when students have decided to enter higher education their choice process continues. Their first-year experiences lead to renewed evaluations of the expectancies and values involved in their decision about whether or not to continue in their chosen STEM programme (Holmegaard et al, 2014). Hence, the expectancy-value model offers a way to comprehend the way the students' first-year experiences shape values and expectancies, how these may be balanced against each other, and how this eventually affects their considerations about staying in or leaving the chosen STEM programme.…”

“…In this perspective, it is noteworthy that so many of the students were surprised by the workload. This is one aspect of the "expectancyexperience gap" that many students encounter in their first year in higher education STEM programmes (Holmegaard et al, 2014).…”

“…First of all, in order to minimise the "expectancy-experience gap" (Holmegaard et al, 2014), information material (web pages, brochures, education exposition stands, advertisements etc.) must give students a realistic impression of what will be expected of them in the educational programme in question: which background knowledge and skills are needed, which effort and degree of dedication, what degree of independence and time management, and so on.…”

“…Looking into students' first year experiences in higher education STEM, it is a continuous process of negotiations between expectations and experiences (Holmegaard, Madsen, & Ulriksen, 2014) or indeed a survival course (Zeegers, 2001). They struggle with figuring out the academic (Ulriksen, Holmegaard, & Madsen, 2017) as well as the social culture (Hasse, 2002(Hasse, , 2008 of their new study.…”